The Information

FTC Chair Lina Khan. Photo by Bloomberg.

FTC Opens Inquiry Into Sony’s $3.6 Billion Bungie Gaming Purchase

By Josh Sisco · May 5, 2022 1:18pm PDT · 2 comments

The Federal Trade Commission has opened an in-depth investigation of Sony’s proposed $3.6 billion takeover of Bungie, the gaming studio behind Destiny and Halo, according to people familiar with the matter. While the FTC may not be able to block the deal, its decision to review it is the latest example of how aggressive the agency is... The Federal Trade Commission has opened an in-depth investigation of Sony’s proposed $3.6...

Inside Shopify, Amazon’s ‘Buy With Prime’ Push Is Raising Existential Questions

By Mark Di Stefano · May 5, 2022 1:01pm PDT · 4 comments

Amazon’s revelation last month that it was launching a new “Buy with Prime” service, which will eventually let any online store offer the same two-day shipping benefits available to Prime subscribers, immediately sparked speculation within Shopify over how the company would respond to the move by its biggest rival. That... Amazon’s revelation last month that it was launching a new “Buy with Prime”...

Cameo CEO Steven Galanis. Photo: Cameo. Artwork: Mike Sullivan

Cameo, a Celebrity Shoutout App, Lays Off 25% of Workforce

By Kaya Yurieff · May 4, 2022 1:59pm PDT · 2 comments

Cameo, an app that became a pandemic darling by letting people pay celebrities to send them customized video greetings, told its employees that it was laying off more than 80 employees, about a quarter of its workforce, according to one of the employees. The company told employees about the plans on Wednesday during an all-hands meeting. ... Cameo, an app that became a pandemic darling by letting people pay celebrities to send them...

A Netflix office in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

Netflix Backs Away From Free-for-All Pay Policy

By Sarah Krouse and Jessica Toonkel · May 4, 2022 12:23pm PDT · 4 comments

A Netflix office in Los Angeles. Photo by Bloomberg.

Netflix Backs Away From Free-for-All Pay Policy

By Sarah Krouse and Jessica Toonkel · May 4, 2022 12:23pm PDT · 4 comments

Netflix has long prided itself on giving managers the ability to pay what they see fit to attract and retain top talent. Now, as it grapples with stalled growth, it’s reining in that freewheeling practice. The streaming company is establishing a new hierarchy of internal seniority levels and associated pay as it is looking to better... Netflix has long prided itself on giving managers the ability to pay what they see fit to attract...

DAZN founder Len Blavatnik (left) and Kevin Mayer. Photos by Bloomberg and AP

A ‘Netflix for Sports’ Wagers on League Deals, Betting to Save Streaming Dreams

By Jessica Toonkel and Mark Di Stefano · May 4, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Early last year, it looked like DAZN might finally be turning a corner. The streaming company—bankrolled by Ukraine-born billionaire mogul Len Blavatnik—had survived the shutdown of live sports during the pandemic, a near-death experience for a company with the ambition of becoming a global Netflix for sports. It beat out British... Early last year, it looked like DAZN might finally be turning a corner. The streaming...

An exhibitor using the Quest 2 headset at a conference in March. Photo by Bloomberg.

Meta Plots Ambitious VR Release Schedule of Four Headsets by 2024

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Mathew Olson · May 2, 2022 9:14am PDT

Meta Platforms is planning to release four virtual reality headsets between now and 2024, according to an internal road map viewed by The Information. The aggressive timeline reflects Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s desire to advance his vision of the metaverse by getting more people to use VR devices. Whether he can meet the timeline, however,... Meta Platforms is planning to release four virtual reality headsets between now and 2024,...

FTC commissioner Lina Khan. Photo: Bloomberg

FTC Chief Khan Vows to Address Sinking Staff Morale

By Josh Sisco · Apr 29, 2022 4:25pm PDT · 7 comments

Under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the Federal Trade Commission has consistently ranked in the top five for staff satisfaction among medium-size government agencies, according to annual government surveys. But that changed in 2021, the year Lina Khan, a favorite of progressives, took the helm with plans to overhaul how the... Under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the Federal Trade Commission has...

Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc. Photo by Bloomberg.

Vice Media Is Exploring Sale of Studio Business

By Jessica Toonkel · Apr 29, 2022 3:07pm PDT · 1 comment

Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc. Photo by Bloomberg.

Vice Media Is Exploring Sale of Studio Business

By Jessica Toonkel · Apr 29, 2022 3:07pm PDT · 1 comment

Vice Media is exploring the possible sale of its studio business, looking to take advantage of rising valuations for production companies in recent months. But a sale of the business would deprive Vice of its biggest business and would raise questions about the future direction of the firm. The media firm is working with investment bank PJT and... Vice Media is exploring the possible sale of its studio business, looking to take advantage of...

OnlyFans CEO Amrapali Gan. Photo: OnlyFans

OnlyFans’ New CEO on Life After Shutdowns, Creator Outrage and Founder’s Exit

By Kaya Yurieff · Apr 29, 2022 10:00am PDT · 1 comment

In November, OnlyFans chief marketing officer Amrapali “Ami” Gan received some surprising news: Tim Stokely, founder of the adult content site, told her he was passing the CEO baton to her. Stokely wasn’t just stepping back from management. He had previously sold his entire stake in the startup, Gan confirmed in her first... In November, OnlyFans chief marketing officer Amrapali “Ami” Gan received some...

Bolt, a Checkout Startup Worth $11 Billion, Lost Customers as Revenue Stalled

By Malique Morris · Apr 28, 2022 4:38pm PDT · 10 comments

Bolt, which develops software that online stores use to help shoppers pay with one click, started the year riding high after rapid-fire fundraising and a private valuation that skyrocketed to $11 billion in January from $6 billion in October. It also easily outlasted Fast, a rival that had raised $120 million from backers including payments... Bolt, which develops software that online stores use to help shoppers pay with one click, started...

FTC Chair Lina Khan. Photo by Bloomberg.

Elon Musk’s Early Twitter Purchase Under FTC Scrutiny

By Josh Sisco and Jessica Toonkel · Apr 28, 2022 9:32am PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover is unlikely to raise antitrust concerns. But what is already being scrutinized is Musk’s failure to comply with rules regarding disclosure of his initial 9% stake, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The Federal Trade Commission recently opened an inquiry into whether Musk... Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover is unlikely to raise antitrust concerns. But what...

Anduril CEO Palmer Luckey. Photo: Bloomberg.

Anduril Seeks to Raise at Least $500 Million as Defense Stocks Rally

By Kate Clark · Apr 27, 2022 5:59pm PDT

Anduril CEO Palmer Luckey. Photo: Bloomberg.

Anduril Seeks to Raise at Least $500 Million as Defense Stocks Rally

By Kate Clark · Apr 27, 2022 5:59pm PDT

Anduril Industries, a startup that sells artificial intelligence–powered defense technology, is raising capital that could propel its pre-investment valuation to more than $7 billion from $4.6 billion about a year ago, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The company is planning to raise at least $500 million in a... Anduril Industries, a startup that sells artificial intelligence–powered defense...

A Cryptolocker ransomware attack, 2015. Photo via Malwarebytes/Flickr.

Accel Leads $50 Million Funding of Cybersecurity Startup Veza at $500 Million Valuation

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 27, 2022 7:00am PDT

Accel has led a $50 million funding round for cybersecurity startup Veza at a valuation of around $500 million, CEO and co-founder Tarun Thakur said in an exclusive interview. The deal underscores how some young startups in hot sectors are still garnering generous valuations despite little revenue. Two-year-old Veza, which was previously called... Accel has led a $50 million funding round for cybersecurity startup Veza at a valuation of around...

People's Liberation Army personnel near a banner of Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing, 2020. Photo by Bloomberg

Despite Rising Risks, U.S. Investors Pump Billions of Dollars Into China VC Funds

By Juro Osawa · Apr 27, 2022 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

American institutional investors are pouring billions of dollars of fresh capital into some of China’s top venture capital firms despite rising geopolitical tensions between the two nations and regulatory attacks that hurt China’s biggest public tech stocks and some private companies over the past year. The investors are betting that... American institutional investors are pouring billions of dollars of fresh capital into some of...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in 2020. Photo by Bloomberg

Microsoft Hatches Plan to Sell Cloud Services to ‘Holdout’ Businesses

By Kevin McLaughlin · Apr 26, 2022 7:00am PDT · 1 comment

Microsoft has become a cloud powerhouse provider primarily on the strength of its decadeslong, deep relationships with Fortune 500 companies. Now it’s stepping up its efforts to go after business customers who haven’t previously spent much on the cloud—call them cloud holdouts—so rivals like Amazon, Zoom and Salesforce... Microsoft has become a cloud powerhouse provider primarily on the strength of its decadeslong,...

From left, former Katerra CEO Michael Marks, Foxconn founder Terry Gou and SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son in Taiwan, 2019.

Bankrupt Startup That Blew $2 Billion From SoftBank Sues Ex-CEO, Board Directors Over ‘Self-Dealing’

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 25, 2022 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

From left, former Katerra CEO Michael Marks, Foxconn founder Terry Gou and SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son in Taiwan, 2019.

Bankrupt Startup That Blew $2 Billion From SoftBank Sues Ex-CEO, Board Directors Over ‘Self-Dealing’

By Cory Weinberg · Apr 25, 2022 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

In early 2018, SoftBank, the world’s biggest investor in tech startups, directed accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to assess a construction startup in which it had just led an $865 million investment. The three-year-old startup, Katerra, was led by a former CEO of Tesla and had hired other experienced Silicon Valley executives and... In early 2018, SoftBank, the world’s biggest investor in tech startups, directed accounting...

Broadcom headquarters in San Jose, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg

Broadcom is Under Antitrust Scrutiny from the FTC—Again

By Josh Sisco · Apr 22, 2022 1:47pm PDT

Less than six months after Broadcom and the Federal Trade Commission formally settled an antitrust probe of the chip giant, the company is back in the agency’s crosshairs following complaints that it is once again forcing exclusive agreements with customers, according to people with knowledge of the situation and a document seen by The... Less than six months after Broadcom and the Federal Trade Commission formally settled an...

Netflix's headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. Photo by Bloomberg.

Netflix Employees Press for More Pay Flexibility as Stock Drop Wipes Out Option Value

By Jessica Toonkel · Apr 22, 2022 12:24pm PDT · 6 comments

Netflix’s stock collapse this week has wiped out the value of all stock options issued to company employees since 2018. It didn’t take long for employees to complain: At a staff meeting the day after the company’s earnings report on Tuesday, employees pressed the company to consider changes to existing compensation arrangements... Netflix’s stock collapse this week has wiped out the value of all stock options issued to...

A Netflix sign in New York. Photo by Bloomberg.

Before Netflix About-Face on Advertising, Months of Debate

By Jessica Toonkel · Apr 21, 2022 12:34pm PDT · 3 comments

When Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings interrupted a colleague on Tuesday’s quarterly earnings call to reveal plans for an ad-supported tier, it wasn’t only analysts and investors who were taken by surprise. Earlier this week, Netflix executives indicated to staffers no decision had yet been made on the advertising move, which had been... When Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings interrupted a colleague on Tuesday’s quarterly earnings...

Photos by Bloomberg.

Amid Ad-mageddon, Shopify and Facebook Butt Heads Over Data

By Mark Di Stefano, Malique Morris and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Apr 20, 2022 6:47am PDT

Photos by Bloomberg.

Amid Ad-mageddon, Shopify and Facebook Butt Heads Over Data

By Mark Di Stefano, Malique Morris and Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Apr 20, 2022 6:47am PDT

For years, a rumor swirled inside Shopify that Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, was looking to buy the Canadian e-commerce giant. Nothing ever materialized—and regulatory scrutiny on the social media giant’s deals makes it seem likely nothing ever will—but the mere fact that the chatter persisted highlights how... For years, a rumor swirled inside Shopify that Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, was...